Among the simplest configurations of flexible plastic dispensing containers are single-serve portions of various condiments such as ketchup, mustard and soy sauce for which the user is required to first find a position along the edge of, or adjacent to the narrow end of the rectangular package which will yield to being torn downwardly or transversely to dispense the contents of the package. In some instances, and particularly where the contents are not at all viscous, but rather are highly flowable as is the case with soy sauce, the difficulty is not in only tearing the package at the narrow end, but also in attempting to dispense a small portion so that the flow can be controlled. Failure to achieve the desired result can lead to the uncontrolled discharge of the soy sauce from the package and onto the hand or hands of the user and/or the adjacent area. The contents can also continue to drain from the package after it has been opened and placed on a horizontal surface since it cannot assume an upright or stand-up position. Common experience indicates that the performance of this type of single-serve flexible packaging is often unsatisfactory.
Flexible packages that are mass produced from webs and sheets of flexible polymeric material with various forms of dispensing tubes are known in the art, and include the dispensing packages for flowable fluids described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,381,941 and 8,430,266, the disclosures of which are incorporated in their entirety by reference. Several embodiments of a beverage dispensing package that is thermoformed using sheets or webs of highly flexible polymeric material and having an integral straw for withdrawing the liquid contents by the user are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,187,225, the disclosure of which is also incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
As will be understood by those familiar with the art, the term web is intended to refer to a material of defined width and indefinite length, e.g., a roll of polymeric film that can be mounted on a transverse roller and dispensed essentially continuously from a station at one end of a forming machine. A sheet can be cut from a web and fed manually or by automated means to form a prescribed number of units.
A method and system of the prior art for producing a package with an integrally formed supporting base for use in a stand-up configuration will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 1 and the apparatus (100). It will be understood that the steps illustrated are performed on a web or a sheet of highly flexible polymeric material that has properties that make it suitable for thermoforming. Suitable materials are well-known to those of skill in the art and are those highly flexible polymeric webs and sheets that can be heat-sealed as required to define a fluid-tight seal. The manufacturing process can be performed continuously for the mass production of the filled packages.
The package blank is defined as an area of a roll or web consisting of a top or cover section and a corresponding bottom section of a separate web defining the vacuum thermoformed container, where the bottom sections are continuously advanced to a position above the thermoforming station of the automated machine. For convenience and in the interest of clarity, the mold (101) is shown in solid lines positioned below the bottom sheet (103). It will also be understood that the bottom sheet assumes the corresponding configuration during the subsequent steps. In the embodiment illustrated, the bottom section passes below a heating station (114), is heated and thereby softened to facilitate the thermoforming step, which includes the application of a vacuum via lines (112) and, optionally, the use of a male plug assist (not shown) to fully form the container portion (120). This step can include the forming of dissimilar side walls, i.e., to provide an asymmetrical package configuration. The thermoformed container portion is filled with contents “F” at station (142) from a container (140) via a pair of fill tubes (143) before the top sheet or web 150 is positioned and sealed around its entire periphery at a sealing station (154) that includes a heated platen schematically represented by peripheral arrows (155). The sealed packages (160) are separated, e.g., by a guillotine knife (170) to provide individual flexible dispensing packages (162), the longitudinal edges of which are optionally trimmed by cutting wheels (180).
In the interests of clarity, the production line of FIG. 1 is shown in a so-called one-up configuration. It will be understood that two or more parallel production lines can advantageously be combined to increase the rate of production of the filled package from a pair of webs of appropriate width, e.g., as schematically illustrated in FIG. 10 which will be described in detail below.
As will be understood by those familiar with the art, one aspect of the economics of mass producing flexible packages from heat-sealable webs of flexible polymeric material is the ability to minimize the number of steps required to complete the production of the finished package. This is an important factor even in fully-automated package forming and filling operations such as those utilizing horizontal thermoform-fill-seal (“HTFFS”) machines which are well known in the packaging industry. This is an important factor because each step involves a mechanical operation performed by one or more machines at stations along the production line. If a machine fails, either entirely or moves out of adjustment or alignment during a high-speed production run, then many units of the item being produced on the line will be lost, the entire line must be shut down, a mechanic brought in to first diagnose the problem and then repair the defect in as short a period of time as possible or, alternatively, remove the particular machine or component and replace it with a back-up part or unit.
One step employed in the mass production of thermoformed dispensing packages is the die-cutting operation that is commonly required to form the dispensing tube. Examples of packaging that require die-cutting after the container portion of the package has been filled with the flowable material and heat-sealed around the periphery to define the shape of the final package are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,187,225 and 8,430,266, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. For example, in the '225 patent, FIGS. 1C and 1D schematically illustrate the die-cutting step after the package has been filled. The various embodiments of the finished package illustrated in the series of FIGS. 6-6G illustrate finished shapes which require a die-cutting step. Specific reference is made to FIG. 6F where the molds are placed in abutting relationship to minimize the waste, leaving a central section (681) of the multiple webs that must be remove by die-cutting. Similar configurations are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5 of the '266 patent.
One problem addressed by the present disclosure is the production of a flexible thermoformed dispensing package which permits the user to dispense all or a predetermined portion of the package contents with some precision and without spilling due to lack of control, and that requires no die-cutting following the production and sealing of the package to remove waste material.
This disclosure also addresses the problem of providing a thermoformed flexible dispensing package that is configured and dimensioned to provide a high degree of control in the hands of the user during the dispensing of the contents, whether they be liquid or a pourable solid, e.g., a powder or granular material. This control extends to both the ease of handling the container while it is open and also to the control of the volume and rate of flow of the contents through the dispensing opening.
Another problem addressed is providing a flexible thermoformed dispensing package of simplified construction that is easy to open and which will maintain a stable stand-up orientation on a horizontal surface after opening that will avoid unintentional discharge of especially liquid contents.
A further problem addressed is providing a flexible thermoformed dispensing package that can be produced using highly flexible, light weight webs or films of polymeric materials which will retain its flowable contents after the package has been opened for dispensing and the package is placed on a horizontal surface.